Friday, January 1, 2010

january

we feel like there is quite a strong little techno community out there, and we wanted to come up with a way to get everyone more involved. we dont have the IT skills or motivation to get a proper forum up and running, but what we thought we'd try is having one post each month where people can use the comments section in a similar way to a forum - talking about records, posting mixes they like, general observations about techno, whatever. we'll keep it pretty open but please no blatant promo and definitely do not post links to any copyright material. besides that, have fun with it.

a new experiment for the new year. we've got no idea if this will work or bomb, but lets give it a shot.

Happy January!Hope it's not too late yet to loose some credits about one of my last year's favourites... Limiting it for now to the Bunker Podcasts, the October one in December followed me all month long especially during a superb Japan holidays! It might be too simple for some guys, but anyway, I like it. Of course, the Raster Noton series mid year was incredible and way ahead of many other sounds! I'd love to hear what Kraftwerk would say about those sounds..Didn't mention any mnml ssgs mixes, cause .. cause they're just too good anyway!!

I've lately been obsessed with the NSI record that came out in December, "Eitherway":

http://www.discogs.com/NSI-Eitherway/release/2040061

I think it's closer to the 'Plays Non Standards' LP than their previous 12"s, but with hot analog electronics rather than stately piano. Terrific sounds that remind me of the Radiophonic Workshop, Rune Grammofon, Fax... One of the best things I've heard in a while.

I think 2010 will see a lot more labels going down the house route. I'd say its a safe bet labels that were churning out minimal/tech will take the house path in 2010. As for techno I can see it getting more rough and industrialised & in general picking up where it left off in 2009. I think disco will come back this year with the likes of the Revenge Mark E etc leading the way.

Where will techno and co, go in 2010? I would be interested to read responses to this question.

For me, I would like to hear further crossover between house/techno/dubstep. I feel these genres have breathed life into one another in 2009. I am looking forward to listening to Sigha's new productions in particular.

I would also like to see a simple approach to house/techno. Just nicely produced drums and deep base. That will do me just fine.

Mix wise, more vinyl based mixes please. The whole thought process is different behind them, they tend to have less concepts and moves getting in the way of the music. This is why, despite the numerous blows vinyl has endured, I believe it will never completely fade away. We would be losing more than just a format if we ever lost vinyl.

That said, I don't want to be dogmatic and I hoping people start to push programs such a ableton to interesting new places. It's all there waiting for anyone who has the time and balls to do something about it.

I can see live techno pushing on. Also further crossover with genres such as indie (Animal Collective and co). Judging by the success of such bands, perhaps the underground will be plundered. With the growing commercialization of Dub Step, I have no doubt we will be hearing it's influence throughout pop and indie in 2010.

the 2000's, retro influences informed house, techno, pop/rock culture in heavy doses. music concrete, avant-garde, modern composition, improvisation, noise, all major arteries in the early developments of electronic music, all found homes in the countless 10,000's of speciality/niche electronic music record labels operated this past decade. techno and house have refined themselves into ever changing arrays of stylistic focus, minimal, deep, dub, acid, purism.

this, in my wild intellectual fantasies, shows how our technology has influenced our culture by allowing technology to emulate and reproduce culture and history, but in the process gives it a new and modern context. this has meaningful implications in the world of music production.

my hopes for this year in music is to hear sounds which are even more intense, hypnotic, psychedelic, fluid, organic than 2009's. i want to hear more techno tracks in the 100-120 bpm range. and i want to hear always new and unique production/design/recording styles, like peter van hoesen, stl, modern love, move d, baby ford. they are whole galaxies of sound to explore. i can't wait for 2010 to begin!

@ Ruh-Roh: thanks, but i think donating money to a charity would be a much more worthy cause... anyway, we've only got another month or two of the mix series to go and DLs through fairtilizer are quick and easy.

as for where techno is going, well, i am not sure. looking forward to finding out. i think the more hypnotic 'headfuck' kind of sound will have to innovate soon or risk becoming stale. likewise, the throw back to 90s sounds can only work for so long.

Nice initiative with the forum like post. Would be even easier to get used to it (for people who rarely check the blog, or don't exactly know what is happening), if a direct link would be on the sidebar to the actual/ongoing month's discussion post - around the mixes or above.

I had only two recent questions and they kinda haunt me: 1. whatever happened to Kompakt?!!? because everybody is talking about minus, richie hawtin and crew, but Kompakt failed to impress in the similar manner as these others.

2. Whatever happened to Fernandez Manetta? The Ape EP on prologue was a very nice release, I checked his myspace where there are newer things - that failed to actually get/keep my attention...Was so promising (ape 01, mostly).

Well, if we're going to use this as a forum, maybe someone can answer a question that has long perplexed me: copyright or ownership.How does it work with sets that are put up in a public forum (site) like this and many others ? Many are of such high quality (bitrate), 320 is common now - that the track is as good as being given away. [Granted though not as high as WAV's].

The Butane mix, case in point. Great selection of tracks. Okay these are 282 and not 320 kbps but y'know what I mean.

My first format choice is CD, then WAV purchase. I don't access 'pirate type' sites for tracks. We can all convert MP3's to WAV's but data is gone in the initial compression, so I guess it is all just based on personal preference.

I digress though from my original question, IE permissions to put these tracks out there in the first place ?

@ zoller: thanks for the suggestion. i've added a link on the right in the contact/connect section. seemed most appropriate place for it. and as for kompakt, they have really fallen off the map in a big way. they've sucked for quite some time now. a real shame.

@ srdic: we've investigated this and it is a very, very, very gray area. our policy with the mixes is basically we ask for them in 192kbps or higher, and then let the artist choose what quality they give it to us in. many of our mixes are in 320kbps but from anecdotal feedback we've received it seems like the mixes are a good way of helping with record sales. for instance, the final track from marcel fengler's ssg mix - danton eeprom's "the infinity symbol" - was originally a digital only release, but i believe is now coming out on vinyl, partly because of people discovering it through fengler's mix (i am not 100% sure about this, but i understand this might have been the case). anyway, just one example. but basically it is not a very clear area about what is ok and what isn't once you get beyond flat out pirating.

@ Chris - thanks for that. Weird that it is such a gray area as you'd think this would be something that has been locked down and clarified.Still, our win on this : )You're right too re helping sales, I know my digital purchases have skyrocketed since I discovered ssgs. Happily though !

hey guys thanks for the support. samuli's maxi should be ready at the end of feb. i think it's better than the first one - but maybe I am biased! also, there are some other nice releases planned on komisch for 2010!

dunno if i've asked this yet, but does anyone here know of a u.s. distributor for prologue vinyl? in fact any advice for u.s. distributors for foreign vinyl (especially of the type discussed here) would be much appreciated :-)

@ Brian: I live in the states too and have the same trouble purchasing vinyl. Discogs, however, is the most expensive way to purchase new records in my opinion, especially if you're looking to buy more than one record. It only makes sense if you're looking for a record that's sold out elsewhere.

I've found that Juno.co.uk has the largest selection and is about the cheapest place to purchase vinyl. Hardwax.com is great but you have to purchase 3 or more records to justify the shipping.

If you're looking for cheap, chemical-records.co.uk is your best bet, but I've had bad luck receiving broken records and stuff.

Last, but certainly not least, is boomkat.com, which is associated with the Modern Love crew. It has cheap shipping but a limited selection as they don't stock large quantities and sell out quickly.

Oh...And rubadub.com is definitely worth checking out. It distributes some excellent labels and has a great selection but shipping can be pricey.

@ noel: fair point. we've given plenty of thought to continuing to the series, but it feels right to finish things, at least for the time being. we'll definitely have commissioned mixes in the future, and most likely some kind of mix series start up again. but i think it is almost time for to bring it to a close and try some other things.

@ benjamin: thanks! a great 2010 to you and all the other ssgs out there.

re US vinyl: it mainly does CDs, but it might also be worth checking ear rational. they do some records and a really nice store.

Chris, seen as you are throwing the floor open I've often kept an eye out in your posts for a mention to nicolas jaar but have never come across anything. I'd be interested in hearing your views on him. One of my favourites from last year was a liveset you can pick from airdrop (airpod 19)

Well first off Happy New Year to everyone out there. The new Nicholas Jaar EP on Gretta Home Workshop is a lot of fun and weird, definitely worth a look. Another new release that I think is fantastic, is off Cheap and Deep with remixes from Morgan Geist and Carl Craig. It's nice to hear Craig moving a few years back in his sound as I haven't liked anything he's put out in some time.

As for US vinyl don't forget about downtown304, I know they stock levon vincent stuff and some other random things, marcellus pittmann's green unirhythms was there for some time. They're more house though to be fair.

I have to vent this somewhere, but I am really getting sick of people charging obscene amounts for vinyl. I am a collector, that don't mean I will pay massively over the odds for what someone is predicting will eventually become valuable. That not how this shit works man. Discogs is criminal for this, and some of the retailers on there should feel ashamed of themselves. Hording greedy bastards, creating antiques out of music. Get real.

@ oliver. do people actually pay those stupid prices??? i was after a copy of Mount Kimbie's Maybes. At the time there were two available on discogs for £40 and £50. Went to Catapult.com and they still had a copy left, £6. Discogs is full of jokers agreed, but for every rip off there is also an old gem for a couple of quid.

Whoa ! I never quite bought in to the whole Move D thing. Doh - I sure have now !

His live set in Portugal tipped me over the edge.http://www.xlr8r.com/podcast/2009/09/move-d-live-portugal

Now I have discovered the David Moufang and Jonah Sharp as Reagenz. Bang ! Check this http://soundcloud.com/move-d/reagenz-live-decibel-festival-2009-09-27 - and there's another just up too that you can only stream so far.

I now find Reagenz have a new album out a few months ago "Playtime For Reagenz" and I'm sure I read somewhere that Moufang has a newie out under his name (though damned if I can find the link now)

Then of course there was Move D & Benjamin Brunn - Songs from the Beehive - say no more on that one.

@jonnyp, I don't know if people pay those prices, I guess someone must.

I find something disturbing about how they can inflate the prices of such records. Especially as the record industry is in such a state.

But you are right, and I really enjoy scanning my old "to buy" lists and then hitting discogs. I recently picked up a Terrence Dixon album for a couple of quid and a Surgeon double EP for something similar.

I just came across this via Shackleton's myspace. Seems like it has got some really interesting interviews. Non less than Appleblim talking about the difference between dubpates and and other mediums such as Ableton. Interesting insight into their benefits.

@brian @Benjamin Anon and others on the US vinyl quest:I used to order some from http://bentcrayon.com/ They're not an online record store but if you email them they should ship to you. They don't get everything, obviously, but they get a lot of nice stuff and it's run by a really nice guy named John.

@Brian The site with the ra podcasts just gives tracklistings (well 90% anyway).funnily enough an ra'er sent it to me the other day and only realised himself after.

got most of the one's i wanted back after a hard drive fail but can't get my hands on sandwell districts or lawrence english!the archiving is a pain in the swiss another good thing to like about the ssgs mixes

making my way through the prologue mixes for modyfier. enjoying tom's mix to begin with. very steady and consistent. only complaint is that the bass is a bit muffled in a few spots. nice mix overall, though.

@theyurinator: Yeah, Bent Crayon is terrific. I grew up in northeast Ohio and didn't realize it even existed 'til last year, despite the fact that it's been around since 1995. John does a good job of keeping up with UK bass and dub techno especially. An oasis of quality music in an area that's pretty much devoid of anything resembling an electronic music "scene." Glad to hear you're supporting it!

re: bentcrayon, yes they're on discogs and i have a few of their records in my ever-expanding shopping cart...

but in the past few weeks i've spent a lotta of cash on vinyl - a friend hooked up a bunch of deep house records for cheap, and i'm waiting on some techno (including some monolake, yay!) from forced exposure and a discogs seller that should be delivered sometime this week. as much as i'd love to splurge and get more deep-techno oriented stuff (i was on the verge of buying some giorgio gigli stuff via juno), i think i'll sit on what i have now....

and yeah too bad about that supposed RA podcast archive... it's SO annoying that they stick to shitty bitrates and keep only the most recent 10 mixes available for download... beside the bandwidth which i don't think would be that much for that big of a site, i don't understand the logic.

i've already given that tom bonaty modyfier mix a few listens. it's good and has a nice buildup, but almost a bit too ... 'formulaic', in my opinion. i hope they keep pushing fresh deep sounds.

and i'm STILL bangin the dasha rush mix here, that's probably been my most-listened-to mix these past few months... if you're not familiar, definitely go diggin through her fullpanda roster, lots of intriguing sounds.

and if anyone's interested, here's a link to my blog, specifically the mixes i discuss and link (including my favorite mnml ssg mixes=)http://smilecoldanatomy.blogspot.com/search/label/mixes

and since i'm in the mood - anyone have any mixes they can share that resemble the first half of the giorgio gigli mix here? i listened to that slooowed-down speedy j mix from last year but wasn't really feeling it. more slow, diabolical-sounding downtempo please!

Not many people know this, but there are a ton of youtube channels out there with a huge, ever growing selection of music. Great for discovering new stuff, just subscribe and enjoy. Some channels I'm subscribed to:

http://www.youtube.com/user/reshaping

http://www.youtube.com/user/SilverdaleDubs

http://www.youtube.com/user/SHABANSHAULICH (All around great selection)

i hadn't been listening to many other ssg mixes lately because i've been obsessing over dasha rush's mixes...

but the recent mike parker mix is some serious stuff. the ending is just killer, and caps off a very intriguing musical statement. i like that it's short but still makes a point - i've already listened to it a few times.

also, acting on the fullpanda tip from dasha rush, i tried out the yuka ssg mix. very nice...

and i gave mx41 a listen. you can definitely tell there's a 'human touch' with some iffy transitions, but it's full of some very nice grooves. i had never really heard of jay ahern before... EXCEPT for this verrrry interesting live set he did with robert henke in 2008. some of the sounds these guys create are just otherworldly (and almost seem to inform monolake's 'atlas/titan' from last year)... read more and download 30 minutes of 'termulator x' goodness at monolake's website:http://monolake.de/downloads/free_track_2008_12.html(if you don't know, robert henke has a BUNCH of free music scattered on his website)

I thought I'd share a brand new Ricardo mix. Always nice as they don't come around so often. This was recorded @ Electric City - Dublin in April 2006. The venue is a small one, it must be only 300 capacity. Worth checking out for some special RV moments.